Motor vehicles are equipped with brake light systems that are operative to provide a visual signal to other motorists that the vehicle is decelerating through application of the vehicle brakes. In an effort to make brake lights more conspicuous, many models of automobiles are equipped with a center mount brake light. In one common embodiment of a center mount brake light, the brake light is mounted on the package shelf in the interior of a passenger car behind the rear seat under the rear window and is disposed along the centerline of the vehicle. In another common embodiment of a center mount brake light, the brake light is mounted on the upper exterior surface of the trunk lid and is again disposed along the centerline of the vehicle. Center mount brake lights, which are used in conjunction with the standard brake lights which are mounted in the rear fenders and occasionally in the rear lip of the trunk lid, provide an additional brake light signal which is presented closer to the eye level of the drivers of trailing vehicles. Conventional center mount brake lights are operative only for providing a visual signal indicative of vehicle braking and do not perform an auxiliary lighting function.
Most automobiles are equipped with a trunk for storage purposes. Most often, the trunk is located aft of the rearward-most seat and is provided with a hinged lid which in its closed position covers the storage area and in its open position opens the storage area to access from the outside. To facilitate visibility in the trunk storage area, particularly in the evening after dusk and at night, auxiliary lighting is required for illuminating the trunk storage area. Typically, a separate, independent trunk illumination lamp is provided for this purpose, the lamp being energized whenever, and only whenever, the trunk lid is open. Commonly, such trunk illumination lamps are mounted in the forward portion of the trunk on the underside of the package tray or on the underside of the trunk lid. Additional auxiliary lighting is also provided on automobiles to illuminate the license plate to improve its visibility. Conventionally, such license plate lighting is provided by separate, independent lamps disposed adjacent the perimeter of the license plate and operative whenever, and only whenever, the running lights with or without the headlights of the automobile are turned on.